"We have no wish to harm or take any dolcents', we wish to, listen to them as well. We hope they an point us towards something we need. You have my word we will be respectful, both of the docents, and of the colussus."
Insight into what he says, he seems trustworthy, but before we side with them...
"That was a lot of words," Vanizi agreed with Zyl. She steps a bit closer to her and says even more softly. "Don't we need one of those ball thingies to help find the rod? They aren't going to get upset about that, will they?"
Mercy and the pilgrims happily travel with you to the next colossus! For the next several hours you wander the desolate wastes, surrounded by mists that dampen sound and severely reduce vision. The pilgrims are not exactly chatty, but they do talk about their life after the Last War. Mercy talks about the pilgrims’ base in Ialos, and invites you to journey with them there after your visit to the colossus. If you decide to travel on alone, or attend to other business before meeting the pilgrims at Ialos, Mercy draws a rough map in the mud to show the way.
Davis:
You sense during the conversations with the warforged that something weighs heavily on Mercy. If you ask the warforged about their melancholy, Mercy asks to speak with you privately.
As you wind your way through the shattered landscape with the pilgrims, Mercy quietly gestures for you to fall back from the group. Their violet-hued frame, usually so composed, seems heavier in this moment. In the hush between your footsteps, Mercy confides something rarely spoken aloud: their closest friend, a blue-and-red warforged named Filch, vanished into the Mournland on the Day of Mourning. Not a trace since.
“I should have followed - should have searched,” Mercy murmurs, voice low and edged with guilt. “But I was needed. These others, they looked to me for guidance, and I... I stayed.”
Their words hang in the air like the mist—heavy with regret, duty, and the ache of choices made. You sense that this isn’t just a confession. It’s a wound, long hidden beneath the armor of command.
(Congratulations! Learning Mercy's secret counts as a secret for the purposes of the Power of Secrets rules.)
After almost a full day of wandering (13 hours!), your group reaches the colossus. What was once a massive, bipedal war machine made of stone, metal, and wood now lies in ruin. Fragments of the mechanical titan lie scattered about, each piece as big as a barn. The pilgrims immediately begin to search the wreckage for serviceable parts, including the docent. Because of the size of the machine (hence the name, colossus!) and the amount of area over which the wreckage is strewn, it takes you 1 hours to search it. At the end, none of you find a docent.
DC15 Investigation:
Smaller, fresher boot prints made by lighter bipeds meander aimlessly about the wreckage. It’s impossible to discern the aim of these lighter bipeds from these tracks alone. They resemble your footprints more than the warforged with you, who make larger, and deeper, impressions.
Vesta is delighted to join with the warforged. As they travel together, she peppers them with questions about their history, their culture, and anything else she can think of. She learns more about the Last War. At one point, she even brings out her journal and starts taking notes. When they come upon the remains of the colossus, the sorceress is in awe, so much so that she isn't even that disappointed that they don't find a docent yet.
She does her best to search among the ruins, but she doesn't find anything of interest (Investigation 10).
Zyl looks a mite sad at the violet robot person, but continues her mostly fruitless search before she waves at the others. "Hey lookie, some footprints, but they don't look like the big heavy prints from the pretty metal lady. They look like our prints. Kinda. Okay not really but more like us than them I guess. Yeah?"
Davis rests his hand on the warforged's arm. "Leadership is hard Mercy, hardest when life is in the balance. I'm sorry this happened. I'm sorry for Filch. How long ago was this 'Day of Morning'? I am new to your world and don't know much about it, but time and distance seem strange here. Perhaps he is close, in time and distance?
If you could describe something about him to me with some detail, I could attempt to locate him. It's a long shot, but hey, Lady Luck often shines her light on those in the darkest places."
(I suggest a long rest, since it's been 14 hours since you entered the Mournland. At this location, you can dimly see the lights of a large encampment/town in the distance. You also have general directions to the warforged camp, and you know there are other colossi scattered about. Which place do you want to travel to tomorrow?)
Mercy tells you that waforged do not sleep, nor do they eat. They will continue on through the night to get to their own encampment.
(I miswrote previously - not a big town at all! In fact, there are no large settlements in this region - even the warforged 'town' is small! So you do NOT see distant lights - just the faint outline of another distant colossus. =)
"Just how far is your encampment?" Vanizi asks tenatively as he indicates the warforged would continue through the night. "We unfortunately really should rest. Is there a good spot to do that around here?" She starts to look about herself, "Or maybe just here by this colossus would work?"
"The remains of this colossus is a good place to rest - it can shelter you from things that hunt in the night. It will take many more hours to reach our village, Ialos. We will look for your coming in the new day."Mercy nods at the rest of the warforged, and they set off into the night.
The remains do, in fact provide a defensible camp that also helps to insulate you from the cold, damp wind that blows through the night. In the distance you occasionally hear howls of hunting animals, and once in the middle of the night the sentry hears a blood-curdling cry that ends in a sudden wet crunch...the hunters must have caught their prey.
The next morning remains grey and damp and cold - another dreary trek through this war-torn countryside. After 4 hours, the party comes across a crumbling stone bridge crossing a river of indigo water. Beneath one side of the bridge, soiled leather tents and bedrolls are arranged around a firepit. Resting there are three armored figures - an orc and two halflings.
Vanizi nods. "Ok. We set up a spot here to rest then." She does just that, trying to find somewhere comfortable and getting a bit to eat. And then it's time to rest. The grey morning brings little different from the day before until they reach the bridge. Spotting the armored figures, Vanizi remarks to the rest of the group, "We should go visit them! See if they might be of any help." She almost starts to move towards them until another thought occurs to her. "You don't suppose these could be the folks that made the footprints we found at that other colossus."
"We have no wish to harm or take any dolcents', we wish to, listen to them as well. We hope they an point us towards something we need. You have my word we will be respectful, both of the docents, and of the colussus."
Insight into what he says, he seems trustworthy, but before we side with them...
Insight: 15
"That was a lot of words," Vanizi agreed with Zyl. She steps a bit closer to her and says even more softly. "Don't we need one of those ball thingies to help find the rod? They aren't going to get upset about that, will they?"
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Mercy and the pilgrims happily travel with you to the next colossus! For the next several hours you wander the desolate wastes, surrounded by mists that dampen sound and severely reduce vision. The pilgrims are not exactly chatty, but they do talk about their life after the Last War. Mercy talks about the pilgrims’ base in Ialos, and invites you to journey with them there after your visit to the colossus. If you decide to travel on alone, or attend to other business before meeting the pilgrims at Ialos, Mercy draws a rough map in the mud to show the way.
Davis:
You sense during the conversations with the warforged that something weighs heavily on Mercy. If you ask the warforged about their melancholy, Mercy asks to speak with you privately.
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
"Mercy, you seem a bit melancholy. What is weighing you down my friend?"
As you wind your way through the shattered landscape with the pilgrims, Mercy quietly gestures for you to fall back from the group. Their violet-hued frame, usually so composed, seems heavier in this moment. In the hush between your footsteps, Mercy confides something rarely spoken aloud: their closest friend, a blue-and-red warforged named Filch, vanished into the Mournland on the Day of Mourning. Not a trace since.
“I should have followed - should have searched,” Mercy murmurs, voice low and edged with guilt. “But I was needed. These others, they looked to me for guidance, and I... I stayed.”
Their words hang in the air like the mist—heavy with regret, duty, and the ache of choices made. You sense that this isn’t just a confession. It’s a wound, long hidden beneath the armor of command.
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
"There is no shame in choosing duty," Lyrena says gently. "I doubt Filch would have wanted you to abandon your people for them."
(Congratulations! Learning Mercy's secret counts as a secret for the purposes of the Power of Secrets rules.)
After almost a full day of wandering (13 hours!), your group reaches the colossus. What was once a massive, bipedal war machine made of stone, metal, and wood now lies in ruin. Fragments of the mechanical titan lie scattered about, each piece as big as a barn. The pilgrims immediately begin to search the wreckage for serviceable parts, including the docent. Because of the size of the machine (hence the name, colossus!) and the amount of area over which the wreckage is strewn, it takes you 1 hours to search it. At the end, none of you find a docent.
DC15 Investigation:
Smaller, fresher boot prints made by lighter bipeds meander aimlessly about the wreckage. It’s impossible to discern the aim of these lighter bipeds from these tracks alone. They resemble your footprints more than the warforged with you, who make larger, and deeper, impressions.
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Vesta is delighted to join with the warforged. As they travel together, she peppers them with questions about their history, their culture, and anything else she can think of. She learns more about the Last War. At one point, she even brings out her journal and starts taking notes. When they come upon the remains of the colossus, the sorceress is in awe, so much so that she isn't even that disappointed that they don't find a docent yet.
She does her best to search among the ruins, but she doesn't find anything of interest (Investigation 10).
Extended Signature
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf (Phandelver and Below) ♦ Vesta Trevelyan (Vecna: Eve of Ruin) ♦ Ada Kendrick (Curse of Strahd) ♦ Gareth Blackwood (Dragon of Icespire Peak)
DM: Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus & Phandalin Adventures
Zyl looks a mite sad at the violet robot person, but continues her mostly fruitless search before she waves at the others. "Hey lookie, some footprints, but they don't look like the big heavy prints from the pretty metal lady. They look like our prints. Kinda. Okay not really but more like us than them I guess. Yeah?"
(Investigation 18)
Davis rests his hand on the warforged's arm. "Leadership is hard Mercy, hardest when life is in the balance. I'm sorry this happened. I'm sorry for Filch. How long ago was this 'Day of Morning'? I am new to your world and don't know much about it, but time and distance seem strange here. Perhaps he is close, in time and distance?
If you could describe something about him to me with some detail, I could attempt to locate him. It's a long shot, but hey, Lady Luck often shines her light on those in the darkest places."
(Vanizi Investigation: 14)
"Hmm, should we follow the footprints Zyl found?" Vanizi asks. "Or just find another colossus?"
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
(I suggest a long rest, since it's been 14 hours since you entered the Mournland. At this location, you can dimly see the lights of a large encampment/town in the distance. You also have general directions to the warforged camp, and you know there are other colossi scattered about. Which place do you want to travel to tomorrow?)
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
(Vesta would suggest whichever location appears to be the closest, perhaps the nearby town?)
"It's been a long day," Vesta says, somewhat reluctantly. "As much as I'd like to keep searching, we should probably get some rest."
She eyes the warforged with curiosity. "Speaking of which, do your people need to sleep or eat?" she asks Mercy.
Extended Signature
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf (Phandelver and Below) ♦ Vesta Trevelyan (Vecna: Eve of Ruin) ♦ Ada Kendrick (Curse of Strahd) ♦ Gareth Blackwood (Dragon of Icespire Peak)
DM: Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus & Phandalin Adventures
(Zyl is happy to camp wherever the group wants, she'll just keep walking until someone tells her to stop :) )
"Whatever closest makes sense to me" Davis agrees, "unless Mercy and company have any input into the best place for us to fine a docent?"
"Mercy, do you know what we'd find at that town or encampment?" Vanizi asks. "Or could we find a place to rest with the other warforged?"
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Mercy tells you that waforged do not sleep, nor do they eat. They will continue on through the night to get to their own encampment.
(I miswrote previously - not a big town at all! In fact, there are no large settlements in this region - even the warforged 'town' is small! So you do NOT see distant lights - just the faint outline of another distant colossus. =)
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
"Just how far is your encampment?" Vanizi asks tenatively as he indicates the warforged would continue through the night. "We unfortunately really should rest. Is there a good spot to do that around here?" She starts to look about herself, "Or maybe just here by this colossus would work?"
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
"The remains of this colossus is a good place to rest - it can shelter you from things that hunt in the night. It will take many more hours to reach our village, Ialos. We will look for your coming in the new day." Mercy nods at the rest of the warforged, and they set off into the night.
The remains do, in fact provide a defensible camp that also helps to insulate you from the cold, damp wind that blows through the night. In the distance you occasionally hear howls of hunting animals, and once in the middle of the night the sentry hears a blood-curdling cry that ends in a sudden wet crunch...the hunters must have caught their prey.
The next morning remains grey and damp and cold - another dreary trek through this war-torn countryside. After 4 hours, the party comes across a crumbling stone bridge crossing a river of indigo water. Beneath one side of the bridge, soiled leather tents and bedrolls are arranged around a firepit. Resting there are three armored figures - an orc and two halflings.
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Vanizi nods. "Ok. We set up a spot here to rest then." She does just that, trying to find somewhere comfortable and getting a bit to eat. And then it's time to rest. The grey morning brings little different from the day before until they reach the bridge. Spotting the armored figures, Vanizi remarks to the rest of the group, "We should go visit them! See if they might be of any help." She almost starts to move towards them until another thought occurs to her. "You don't suppose these could be the folks that made the footprints we found at that other colossus."
She now eyes them a bit suspiciously.
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer